Maximize Muscle Growth With These Three Training Methods

Wow. Talk about putting me on the spot. Want the winning numbers to next week’s PowerBall too?

Bodybuilders, athletes and regular Joes alike have built impressive physiques using a diverse range of workout systems. The only common ground they share is: lifting weights, working hard and being consistent.

That said, there are basic recommendations that are well supported, both scientifically and anecdotally. Low rep sets (1-5 reps) are best for building strength, higher-rep sets (15-20) are more efficient to increase muscular endurance. The best “zone” for hypertrophy (muscle growth) seems to be in the 8-12 rep range.

But before you toss every workout plan that doesn’t stick to that narrow range, take heed: Recent research has demonstrated that muscles can grow across a very broad rep range. Which explains why my three favorite set and rep schemes are so different from that classic approach yet still work so well.

8 x 8

This is a variation of the classic 5 x 5 method — arguably the oldest training method of them all. And like most things that have stood the test of time, it simply works: five sets of five reps at 75-80% of your 1-rep maximum (1RM) would pack muscle onto a canary.

However, for pure size gains, the 8 x 8 scheme is even better. Popularized by iron guru Vince Gironda, this method focuses on training density rather than load.

To perform eight sets of eight reps, use a weight that you could do 12 reps with (roughly 60% of your 1RM). The kicker is that you must complete all eight sets before you can increase the weight. Oh, and you can’t rest much – only 30 seconds between sets.

It's not easy, to put it mildly. You’ll quickly overextend the rest interval if you don’t keep your eyes focused on your stopwatch. But the pump it delivers? Yikes. Talk about metabolic stress. And as some Governor named Schwarzenegger once said, “Da pump equals growth.” I love this method with smaller exercises like barbell curls and lateral raises.

Pyramid Training

Pyramids have been around for as long as, well, the pyramids. There are different versions of pyramid sets.

Ascending Pyramids: Increase the weight with each set while you decrease the amount of reps.

Set 1: 12-15 reps

Set 2: 10-12 reps

Set 3: 8-10 reps

Set 4: 4-6 reps

By starting light and adding weight with each set, you’re well warmed-up before you get to the heavier weights. So it’s a safe way to train. Increasing the load with each set, called “ramping,” also wakes up your nervous system so it can assist with the heavier loads. This is a great system for getting stronger.

Descending Pyramids: Decrease the weight with each set as you increase the amount of reps.

A drawback with ascending pyramids is you only do one “all out” set. But for maximum hypertrophy, working until failure is a powerful tool. As such, you may want to keep your muscles near failure for longer to elicit the greatest growth response. Enter the descending pyramid.

Set 1: 4-6 reps

Set 2: 8-10 reps

Set 3: 10-12 reps

Set 4: 12-15 reps

Start off with your heaviest weight for a few reps (after warming up, of course), and then decrease the weight and do more reps with each successive set. Since each set is taken to failure (or close to it), this scheme is best suited for pure hypertrophy — with strength gains coming as a close second.

Want the best of both worlds? Well, I have a pyramid for you. It’s called the triangle pyramid.

With triangles, the weight is increased with each set until reaching your heaviest one. From there, you follow a descending pyramid scheme using progressively lighter weights while doing more reps — with these sets taken closer to muscular failure, and the last set taken to total failure.

While it's a whole lot of sets, triangle pyramids are tough to beat when it comes to increasing muscle size.

8 x 3

Speaking of a lot of sets, this bad boy is one of my favorites — even though the amount of reps is lower than the typical 8-12 rep “hypertrophy zone.”

This scheme calls for using 80-85% of your 1RM — or roughly the weight you could lift for five perfect reps, and performing eight sets of three reps.

How can you grow using such low reps? For one, the heavy loads preferentially recruit the fast-twitch muscle fibers, which have greater growth potential compared to the slow-twitch fibers (which don’t really “kick in” until the reps get higher).

And two: Volume, baby! Doing so many sets (eight) makes up for the comparatively low amount of reps. And that’s eight sets of quality, heavy work.

Just be careful not to overshoot your weights (sets 1-5 should be quite easy) and use impeccable form. Once you can do all eight sets for three perfect reps, increase the load by 2.5-5% for your next workout.

This kind of work is best used with big, compound exercises like bench presses, pull-ups, squats, and deadlifts.

Picking your favorite set and rep system? C’mon, that’s like picking your favorite child. But there are certainly strategies that have stood the test of time. These three methods have been getting dudes big for many years and aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Pick one and give it a serious six-week run.

Bryan Krahn, CSCS, is a personal trainer, online coach, and fitness writer. He helps ordinary guys get what they really want from their fitness programs — to build muscle, lose fat, and feel great. He blogs about muscle, manhood, and lifestyle at bryankrahn.com . You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.